[p'arth]

GM has come up with a advertisement in todays papers about all inclusive pricing ... i.e. car + 1 lac km warranty + 9 free services incl. consumables & labor ... Beat all incl price starts at 3.5 lacs

[myavu]

@ p'arth Can existing Beat owners get this benefits through some extra payout?

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by p'arth

GM has come up with a advertisement in todays papers about all inclusive pricing ... i.e. car + 1 lac km warranty + 9 free services incl. consumables & labor ... Beat all incl price starts at 3.5 lacs

Is that an all-india-offer? That should be a killer deal for sure ! 9 Free services? whats the time period in which we hv to do all these services? or is it kilometer based service interval [and not time based services] ?

[mjothi]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Is that an all-india-offer? That should be a killer deal for sure ! 9 Free services? whats the time period in which we hv to do all these services? or is it kilometer based service interval [and not time based services] ?

It was always there for years - called Cashless ownership. Yes, its across all cars [not sure on captiva] and pan India.

[auto-one]

IMO, the Beat may not become the segment leader, but has the potential to do better in the market. At the time of its launch, GM targeted a monthly sale of more than 4,300 units ( more than the spark ) for the Beat. It did achieve the target initially, but now the sales are declining.

Lets first have a look at the monthly sales figures:-

January 2825 units, February 4431 units, March 4508 units,April 3852 units
May 2296 units, June 3415 units, July 1722 units, August 2475 units

Why are the sales not as high as expected?
Probable reasons:--
1.The Beat is clearly aimed at the young customer. However, apart from the stylish interior - exterior design, the ACC feature and the VFM pricing , the car doesn’t offer much in terms of other cool features ,and hence it fails to meet the expectations of the young customers. A car targeted at the young needed to have lot of cool features too.
2.Customers in this segment prefer practicability, ease of driving, comfort, low cost of owning (and ownership), a good service support, along with some useful features. The Beat with its tiny boot , high set dashboard , lack of drivers seat adjust and the low seat seats (that lack under thigh support), all fail to satisfy the typical 'B' segment customer. The saving grace though is the low cost of owning and the cashless ownership offer from GM.
3.Competition in the form of more practical and VFM hatches like the figo, wagon r , i10 have affected the Beat.
4.GM service quality is not exactly worth mentioning about. ( though not as bad as some others) The company doesn’t seem to have a proper response / customer feedback system. ( my email to GM sent 2 months ago has yet to receive an answer )
5.Lack of a diesel option is probably one of the reasons affecting the sale.
6.Perception about the GM brand ( low resale value, not long lasting, poor service ) is affecting the Beat a lot. The beat advertisements aren’t effective either and they do little to boost the sale or build the GM brand.

Conclusion:--
The Beat has ended up becoming neither a family hatch nor a feature rich car for the young.
I believe, its not the product failure, but a marketing failure of the company. (And no, I don’t think the styling has adversely affected the sales.)
One thing must be noted that the beat owners aren’t complaining. The car seems to be trouble free .GM appears to have addressed the 2nd gear pickup issue. And no, the beat is not underpowered

What needs to be done :--( My view )
1.Launching the diesel car:-. Which GM is bringing soon ( however this alone is not a guarantee for success and other factors have to be considered as well.
2.Provide drivers seat height adjust for all variants ( absolutely essential ) and change the seat design ( front and rear ) to aid better visibility and comfort
3.Introduce a higher variant with additional goodies like power mirrors , better tyres, Bluetooth music system with standard sized usb, steering mounted audio controls .
4.Improve the service and overall response . GM needs to take serious initiatives to change the negative perception of the brand .

Personally I would like to see the Beat succeed in the market.

[CARDEEP]

I think GM is yet to win the hearts of average Indian buyers, with Opel fiasco still in minds of customers.

Further, middle class Indians (the biggers buyers segment) prefer cars from companies that have reputation of reliability, (fuel) efficient & good A.S.S.. The Japs (lead by Suzuki) lead from the front.

American cars are not considered as reliable &/or efficient, plus the dealer network is not as big as Hyundai (even!) plus the services & spares costs are high, which does not attract many customers. Moreover, GM cars do not have a character as associated with Ford (sporty & good handling), & this doesn't help the cause.
Only good thing with GM (at present) is the 3-years hassle free ownership experience on its cars, which it has commenced offering on Beat off late.

[auto-one]

Originally Posted by CARDEEP

Moreover, GM cars do not have a character as associated with Ford (sporty & good handling), & this doesn't help the cause.

I agree with you. The new generation GM vehicles ( Cruze, Beat , and the upcoming Aveo ) , all are stylish, but style alone cannot sale. GM needs to offer a comprehensive package.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

What matters is that rear seat passengers should be comfortable and trust me they are. Also I have no intention of seating 3 ppl in the rear when it is meant for 2 + 2...Unfortunately our mentality is car = Maruti = sub 3.5 lakhs = good average.
Just my thoughts and don't mean to criticise anyone or any brand.

Absolutely true! And which of the current hatches can comfortably seat 3 adults at the back? My swift [which I believe is one of the widest among the segment] cant seat 3 comfortably ! I had a tough time once when I had to sit at the back of the car and the fact is i have an average build and same with another friend of mine and the third one was slightly heavy. Even then we had a tough time.

Originally Posted by nasa_hubble

I believe a good number of sales require good marketing unless you have an Exceptionally VFM product.
The recent ad which states "TEST IT LIKE YOU OWN IT" does not convey the message properly.
What are they trying to convey? that you test drive their car, shake every part loose and that's it go home and think about another car.
Cars in India hold emotional value. just look at the Alto-800 ads, Figo ads, even the VW Brand Film.
A car should connect to the customer.

This makes sense for me as twice I had to take a test drive as per the instructions of SAs -- once for Vista & next time for Verna -- they showed me a 2-3 km radius inside the city because of high demand for the test drives. That moment itself I decided not to buy the car -- the attittude was a HUGE let down ! So this campaign makes a lot of sense for me -- may not for the mass!

Originally Posted by sachinj12

When I was in the market, the sole reason I dropped out Aveo because it did not offer a Diesel heart.

IMO, Diesel factor plays a very crucial and pivotal role in our country.

+1 -- Indian market believes in Diesel -- fun and economy balanced.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

KreativeGeek, while i agree with most of your viewpoints, the part i have quoted above is nothing limited to the Beat. Any new vehicle which hits the market, and is seen in limited numbers initially draws the same reaction from the public.

When i bought my Pulsar in the year it was first launched, i went through similar experiences of the kind you have mentioned. At a checkpost in Hyderabad, i was asked to step down by the cop on duty who even went for a test ride on my bike! Look at the scene today.. Pulsar is THE most common bike around, and noone cares a damn about a new one.

I would disagree with the statement that all models attract public -- not to the extent mentioned in both your threads [Beat & pulsar examples]. How many of our recent launches were head turners -- hardly two or three. So this is an exclusivity that Beat owners enjoy!

Originally Posted by mjothi

It was always there for years - called Cashless ownership. Yes, its across all cars [not sure on captiva] and pan India.

Ohh ! so this is old wine in a new bottle? I knew about the cashless ownership. Its only for petrol variants, if I am not wrong! So the cashless is for 3 years / 1,00,000 kms is what you are saying? And its 3 services per year? Also if we dont use all the 9 free services in 3 years, it will be void?

[fz_rider]

Some points I'd like to mention :

Those who say , Beat needs a diesel , I say amongst the top four cars , which feature in the monthly sales figures , three have only petrol engines. I'm mentioning these , because , it's squarely aimed at the customers who go for wagon R and i10 . So I think diesel engine is not a concern.

The problem is , the engine isn't as smooth and refined as the Kappa and K - Series , although it is refined than the 1 liter K - Series , Kappa is an overall better engine. Secondly, the gearing is a bit tall for 2nd and 3rd gears. Mid - range isn't very strong . And short 5th gear saps up the fuel economy.

For those who say styling is a bit aggressive , true , but when Swift was launched , same was said , and look where it is now.

For those who say it is cramped , just check out the back seats , it has got ample of head room and legroom. The problem that I found , is that the front seats are a bit low, and visibility isn't that great. Secondly , the rear window is too small , smaller than the one found on Swift.

For those who say boot space , even wagon R has 180 liter boot compared to 170 on Beat.

For those who say it is underpowered ,

Beat :

0-60 : 6.13
0-100 : 14.86
top whack : 159
20-80 : 15.99
40-100 : 22.43

wagon R :

0-60 : 6.48
0-100 : 16.9
top whack : 152
20-80 : 15.69
40-100 : 23.56

i10 :

0-60 : 5.35
0-100 : 13.02
top whack : 151
20-80 : 15.52
40-100 : 29.92

Source for figures : ACI

The biggest problem that I feel is , Chevrolet is still not considered as a hatchback maker. Chevy needs to do a huge brand building process , to establish itself as a major player.

[auto-one]

Cars like the i10 and the wagon R , who are among the best sellers , don't have a diesel heart, and yet they sell . Why? The reason, I feel, is that they are backed by brands ( Maruti / Hyundai ) which are perceived by the customer as companies offering products with low cost of ownership and maintenace, along with a better dealer network. ( And these companies do fulfill the customer expectations in these areas )
Secondly these cars offer practicability, are easy to dive, and are reasonably comfortable.
The Beat, on the other hand, doesn't have comparable advantages like practicability and brand reputation and hence needs a diesel heart, as an USP.The diesel Beat may obviously get an advantage over these rivals, who don't have a diesel option.

[p'arth]

Attaching copy of the print ad.

Originally Posted by myavu

@ p'arth Can existing Beat owners get this benefits through some extra payout?

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Is that an all-india-offer? That should be a killer deal for sure ! 9 Free services? whats the time period in which we hv to do all these services? or is it kilometer based service interval [and not time based services] ?

[fz_rider]

Today something really interesting happened.
In past few months , spotting a Beat in abundance was pretty rare.
But today I saw , Black , Red , White ,and Beat in every other color.
It seems they are coming and saying too me ,there are enough of us present in the market []

And every time I saw one , I appreciated more the way it looks []

[PaddleShifter]

(A wild theory based on personal experience) I think what also contributes is that U-VA is parked alongside Beat at every dealership. Just checkout U-VA's cabin space and the quality of Beige interiors. It surely dazzled me. It outshines Beat's darker interior color scheme to some extent but more importantly, it induces the idea in the mind of a customer to go for more spacious hatch as Beat does feel a lot cramped after one checks out U-VA. And U-VA is not picking up well either.

Result- Those seeking more cabin space after checking out U-VA turn to other cars.

GM has really come up with two great products in the form of Beat and Cruze.
If only they could improve the interior space in Beat. Lack of space is also evident from the design of the rear seat. If you notice it carefully, it is much more curved from the sides to as to allow easier ingress and egress.

[thumpmeister]

Originally Posted by JayD

In my opinion, the Beat failed due to the following reasons.
1) No diesel engine
2) Underpowered petrol motor
3) F.E is not too great
4) Terrible bootspace, making it impractical as an only car.

Hi,

I am a Beat owner. I myself was confused between the Figo & Beat but opted for the Beat because of Figo's long waiting period & Beats' awesome looks which I dont think are over the top as some people are going on & on on the forum. Maruti just doesnt rank as a good carmaker in my opinion apart from its service center presence at every nook & crany & cheaply available spares. Also if you compare the Beat LS & Figo mid range model, Beat is cheaper by approx Rs. 25,000.
And the boot space is the same as the New Wagon R. POwer is same as or better than Wagon R or Figo. FE is same as FIgo or better.
The main reason which i feel Beat has not picked up because of GM's brand recall in India where people seem to go behing tried & trusted names like Maruti. Also GM needs to step up/ rethink its marketing strategy for Beat!!

Its actually unfathomable why the Beat is not selling as GTO has mentioned in this August 2010 Sales figures analysis.

[thumpmeister]

Originally Posted by myavu

Beat is not at all underpowered. May be the diesel factor hurting the sales. Agreed Beat is not a family car, but good for early married and even with two kids. Can some one compile the sales figure of Petrol Beat / Petrol Figo /i10. I am sure Beat will survive. Let us wait and watch! People complaining about GM's service wrt Maruti's and Hyundai's. What about Ford? Both these cars are relative new and nothing major will happen in first year or even second year. Let us wait and watch how things will shape up in the coming years on the service/spares/labor front. Our Figo got a cut/dent in left fender by a local tempo-Ace at Gurgaon. For repair Ford quoted Rs.5500 and we did from a local dent guy for Rs.300. Finish is unbelievable. Painting/touching is still pending.

We own both Beat and Figo.

Cheers!

Vinu

Hi Vinu,

You are spot on!! I am a proud owner of a Beat LS and have not repented my decision till date though initially i was a bit unsure about choosing over the FIgo.

But hey, you need to take a risks and Maruti and Hyundai hatchbacks are just too dime a dozen like taxis and not appealing to me at all. In fact, all these guys doing their analysis on the reaons why Beat is not selling need to take a look at the initial posts on TBHP when the Beat was reviewed & see the number of members who had gone ga ga with the Beat!!

Lets give it some time & Beat will pull up its numbers, GM just has to rethink its ATL & BTL strategies.